This is the latest twist in the political-industrial soap opera of the moment. Bertrand Meunier, fifteen years on the board of directors of Atos, including four at its head, has decided to leave his position. The one who still presented himself as a “captain” concerned with “leading society to safety” in the columns of Challenges at the beginning of October, chose to throw in the towel before achieving this.
Could it be otherwise? Since the end of July, the chairman of the board of directors of the IT group has crystallized the criticisms of almost all the stakeholders in the Atos file, at the forefront of which is a chorus of minority shareholders. At issue: the sale to Daniel Kretinsky, announced in the torpor of summer, of Tech Foundations, the outsourcing activity branch of Atos. A project coupled with an unexpected stake taken by the Czech billionaire to the tune of 7.5% in the capital of Eviden. All this, under conditions deemed too favorable to the insatiable businessman by the shareholders, who feel cheated by Atos. So much so that two of them, the Ciam and Alix PM funds, filed a complaint with the National Financial Prosecutor’s Office (PNF).
At the very heart of the board of directors, René Proglio was concerned about this transaction, while another administrator, Caroline Ruellan, decided to leave the ship. Internally, the management’s waltz was not likely to reassure employees. “The brand image of Atos is very deteriorated. Many customers are extremely worried,” whispers Olivier Debroise at the CFE-CGC. Concern is the feeling that has also won over several LR senators, faced with the possible “entry of foreign capital into a company [NDLR : Eviden] which is very important for nuclear deterrence”, recently summarized Cédric Perrin, the senator of the Territoire de Belfort at the initiative of an article published in August in Le Figaro.
A revolt of which Bertrand Meunier took note, giving way to a tandem composed of one of his supporters, Jean-Pierre Mustier, former senior executive of Société Générale during the Kerviel affair, and Laurent Collet-Billon, former Director General of Armaments (DGA). Without this change of mind really reducing tensions. “Atos has dismissed the messenger without giving up the message. The sale remains an operation that we do not want,” insist the founders of the activist fund Ciam, Anne-Sophie d’Andlau and Catherine Berjal. On the Atos side, the operation remains presented as “the best solution in the interest of all Atos stakeholders”.
But the group announced that its closure and its vote at the general meeting would not take place before the second quarter of 2024, officially for regulatory issues. In a press release dated October 16, management is also preparing for the possibility that “the operation with EPEI [NDLR : le fonds de Daniel Kretinsky] not'[ait] not take place”, saying it is ready to “access markets and/or [à] consider the sale of additional assets” if necessary. With or without the sale plan, Atos will be forced to face the dangers that await it, including debt maturities from 2025.
“The sale of Tech Foundations increases the debt by a billion euros. Giving it up will allow us to have more latitude to renegotiate the debt, and the stock market price to recover,” we retort from the side of Ciam, when others plead in favor of Bpifrance’s entry into the capital of the former tricolor flagship. The State would still have to agree to break its silence on the Atos file.